Welcome back, everyone! It’s been a very busy summer here at 802. First, we’ve moved! Our renovation project at our 48^th Street building begins on Sept. 1, so we’ve temporarily relocated to the 10th floor of 25 West 45th Street. Members are welcome to visit our new address to pick up checks, talk to the membership department, and do anything you normally do in our building — except rehearse. We expect to be at our temporary location until at least February — and possibly longer. Please note that our mailing address will not change; you should continue to send all physical mail (including checks sent by employers) to 322 West 48th Street. All mail will be forwarded. Likewise, you may continue to reach us at (212) 245-4802. As always, all contact info is posted at: www.local802afm.org/contact

As members digested our e-mail blast with our new address, I received a lot of questions from folks who said they hadn’t heard anything about our “green” building project. Over the past two years, we pushed the info out there in my president’s reports, in Allegro (see here and here), on social media (see here, here and here) and at membership meetings (members even approved a building fund bylaw resolution at our June 2023 meeting). Despite this, many still missed all of that…or perhaps forgot. So, I’m including a very broad description of what we’ve embarked on at the end of this report.

We’ve begun negotiations with the Broadway League. By the time you read this, we’ll have had at least one all-day session that we hope will have been productive. Chief of Staff Dan Point, Principal Theatre Rep Theresa Couture, and I recently visited every pit on Broadway to talk to each band about the negotiations and communication strategies. We also met with many from the music prep bargaining unit, surveyed them all, and have crafted a few choice proposals to bring to the table for them.

In other news, we’ve granted a six-month extension to Encores!, begun negotiations for a successor New York City Opera contract, and are gearing up for the September start of both the Not-For-Profit Off Broadway and AFM Live TV/Videotape contract negotiations. We’re thrilled to have already seen enthusiastic participation from many of the NYC live TV bands. Thanks to all who have participated in our preparation caucuses.

I am also just back from the annual ICSOM (International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians) conference, this year in Portland, Oregon. Unfortunately, I arrived there with Covid, so was unable to benefit from the very useful snapshot of the health of the American orchestral scene as well as the informative seminars on diversity issues and the industry’s attempts to deal with sexual misconduct. It would also have been a chance to confer with local presidents from around the country. It’s always good to increase one’s sense of perspective and context.

We’re about to head back to the table to negotiate the New York Philharmonic agreement. We’re optimistic that things will go better than they did in the spring when our side walked out after an insulting counter from management. Much has changed at the Phil over the summer and we are hopeful that will lead the way to better progress.

Finally, we’re about to begin our next election cycle at 802. Every three years, all elected positions are up for grabs. See our two lead stories (official election rules and election summary from the Local 802 Leadership Committee) that describe the process and explain how to go about putting your hat in the ring, if you’re so inclined. We encourage all members to consider running. We can’t run this place and protect our members without effective leadership. Please think hard about whether you might be able to provide that leadership.

LOCAL 802 GOES GREEN

And now, read on for the background and a description of our renovation project.

Almost two years ago, it became apparent to the board that the band-aids we were regularly applying to all the mechanical systems in the building were no longer sufficient and we were now forced to be laying out tens of thousands of dollars per year on full body casts. Our HVAC, water, elevator and electrical systems were all at end-of-life and constantly breaking down. We’ve often had no heat in winter and no AC in summer. In recent times, we’ve had no hot water for the last five months. We’ve had to spend money on multiple asbestos and mold remediations.

But the scariest part, and the part that kicked this plan into high gear, was the passing of NYC Local Law 97, a city ordinance that requires buildings like ours to reduce our carbon footprint or be subject to massive annual city fines. We have three years until those fines kick in.

Rather than replace our ancient systems with new ones that wouldn’t address LL97, we are converting the building to all electric systems (mini split HVAC, electric hot water, solar array on the roof, etc). We are eliminating ALL fossil fuels.

The board approved this project because it frankly had no choice. The other part of the project was a choice but it seemed the prudent one. We are upgrading our interior office spaces. They, too, are in terrible shape (toxic chemicals emanating from old carpets, broken desks and chairs everywhere, file cabinets that don’t lock, windows that don’t open or close, floor plans that interrupt workflow, etc). We could choose to limp along as we are but it seems downright foolish to do so. It will cost less money and time to fold it into the system conversion than to wait until literally nothing works inside the building either.

So we are looking at a massive build that will cost approx $6 million. We are financing the whole thing through a city-funded bank called PACE that was set up to fund projects exactly like ours at low interest. The payments, while they will be steep, will be approximately as much, or perhaps a bit more, than what we currently spend on maintenance and repair. And we should, in a few years, have excess carbon allowances that we can sell, and get an income stream from both the solar component and our sixth floor spaces which we’ll be able to list at market value — finally. We will also increase the market value of the building by at least $10 million.

The first floor alone will have a locker room for members where they can safely drop their axes between shows, a lounge with a full pantry, and a new rehearsal space to replace Room B. The club room will have new LED lighting, a raised ceiling and a new sound system.

Yes, this is a huge project (and I’ve only scraped the surface here), but it must be done.